SEATED MONK (PHRA MALAI).

THAILAND.

AYUTTHAYA PERIOD, 17TH CENTURY.

H. 30 CMS, 12 INS.

An enchanting gilded bronze figure of the venerable monk Phra Malai, seated in bhumisparsimudra with his left hand holding the remains of his monastic fan, his face with an intense spiritual gaze, wearing a thin sanghati with a narrow sash over the left shoulder.

Phra Malai was a Buddhist monk who acquired special powers through meditation, enabling him to visit heaven and hell. He subsequently returned to earth and began to preach that our actions in life would lead to either future suffering or to happiness.

For more on the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, see cat. no. 14.

The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco has a late Ayutthaya period illustrated manuscript with scenes from the Phra Malai story – see cat. no. 80, p. 105 in F. McGill et al, The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2005.

PROVENANCE: Private English collection.